


A River Runs Through It

by Icecat62



Category: Emergency!
Genre: Discussion of Death, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-24
Updated: 2014-08-24
Packaged: 2018-02-14 14:11:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2194770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icecat62/pseuds/Icecat62
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Johnny and Jen have a talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A River Runs Through It

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Johnny's a Green Pen - 06/18/2002.

The funeral was typical for a fireman. A flag draped coffin parading through the streets past lines of mourners. Family and fellow firefighters trying to hide their sorrow, some of them not winning the battle. Gage liked to think that he presented himself well. He didn't cry. He stood tall as the casket passed him and the rest of the men of 51s.

It was a relief for it to be over. He wouldn't dream of saying that outloud, but he hated funerals. They were so depressingly morbid. He understood what the grieving families were going through, having faced it before personally, but life went on.

Their fallen comrade would be talked about for a few weeks, then slowly people would drift onto other subjects. Bringing up a dead man's name only pointed out one glaring fact. It could have been one of them. No one was super human. They were mortal.

Grabbing a beer from the refrigerator, he made his way through the group of people who gathered in the kitchen. Joanne was busy serving people drinks and food. He could hear Roy's voice coming from the dining room, telling a tale of one of their close calls. He wanted to go home, but it wouldn't look good, so he took the only escape offered him. The back yard.

Pushing open the screen door, he made his way across the deck and down the stairs. Twisting the cap off the beer, he took small sips from the bottle as he walked around the yard. He made a mental note to tell Roy they needed to rebuild the rose trellis. It looked like it was about to collapse.

Walking behind the tool shed, he was surprised to find Jennifer DeSoto sitting on the ground, her head tucked down, looking at the grass beneath her feet.

"Hey Pumpkin, what'cha doin' out here?"

With a soft sigh, Jennifer lifted her head. To Gage's relief she wasn't crying, she looked more perturbed if anything. "Hi Uncle Johnny."

He motioned at the ground. "Mind if I join you?"

Jennifer eyed him. "Won't you ruin your uniform?"

"Ah, I can get it cleaned." Lowering himself to sit beside her, he self-consciously set the beer to the side.

Jennifer smirked at him. "It's okay. Dad drinks them too and Mom said they're okay as long as he only has one or two."

"That's all right, I can drink it later." Leaning against the shed, he gave her a small smile. "So why're you out here?"

Jennifer huffed a little, her face darkening. "They treat me like a baby. Every time I walked into a room, they stop talking or change the subject. I know what happened. I read the paper, so why do they act like that when I'm around? It's so...so irritating!"

He couldn't help smiling at her. "Jen hon, you're only fifteen. As much as you want to think you're all grown up, you're not."

She gave him a shocked look. Usually he was the one person who understood how she felt. The one person who saw things her way.

"Jen, fifteen is pretty grown up, but you still have a lot of years before you're an adult. Heck, I wish I were still fifteen. I had a pretty good time bein' a kid."

Jennifer felt a spark of anger run through her. So he thought she was still a kid huh? Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "You have room to talk. Dad and Mom say you act like one all the time."

Gage was a little startled to hear the sarcastic tone Jennifer used with him. She never smart mouthed or backtalked with him. She was his little princess. He took a good look at her, realizing that she was right. She was growing up and to his dismay; she was doing it a bit too fast for him. 

She still ran up to him and gave him hugs and kisses, but she was changing. The little girl in pigtails and pink lacy dresses had given way to jeans and crop tops. The dresses she did wear were more grown up and her hair usually hung freely about her face. He found himself wishing she would let him braid her hair in ribbons the way she use to when she was little.

Now she was being snippy with him. Her tone sharp. There were still the childlike tones, but it was tinged with deeper emotions. She had said the words, hoping to hurt him. 

Sighing, he picked the beer up and took a swig. Shrugging his shoulders, he gave her a sad smile. "Yeah Jen, I act like a kid some times, I'll admit it, but I'm not a kid. You are."

Jennifer sat perfectly still as she watch Gage take another drink from the beer. The moment the words had left her lips, she regretted saying them and she had expected him to be angry with her. Instead he sat there drinking his beer, waiting for her to say something more. He was treating her like an adult.

"Maybe I'm not 'officially' an adult, but I'm not a little baby either. Why can't they talk about Mr. Roberts when I'm around? He died. I know what death is."

Gage sighed again. Unfortunately Jennifer and every single firefighter's child learned what death was and usually before most other children did. "Jen, most people don't want to talk about death or dyin' and talking about it in front of a kid is kinda' taboo."

Jennifer smirked slightly. "If it's taboo, then how come you don't have a problem talking about it with me?"

"I said it's like...look Jen, you and me..." He motioned a hand at himself. "...we've always talked to one another about everything. I told you never to be afraid to ask me anything and that includes death."

Leaning her head back against the shed, she looked up at the clear blue sky. "Mom said when you die you go to Heaven. Everything's all white and gold and everyone is together again. Dad said it's like going to sleep and dreaming forever."

She looked at Gage again, her expression serious. "What do you think death is like?"

Cocking his head to the side, he closed his eyes for a brief moment before looking first at the sky, then at her. "Life is like a river. It flows one way and in the end it empties in the ocean where it stretches on forever. I like to think that my life is like that. I'm a river that's moving forward every year and when it's my time, I'll be joining the ocean. I'll be a part of something bigger."

Jennifer snickered. "Did your grandpa tell you that story?"

"No, I thought of that all my own." Draining the last bit of beer from the bottle, Gage pushed off the wall of the shed and stood. "I don't know about you, but I'm a little hungry."

"You're always hungry!"

"You wanna' come in and grab a sandwich or are you gonna' mope out here all day?"

"I'm not moping."

"Yeah and I'm not hungry. Come on."

He held a hand out and smiled as she grabbed his hand and let him pull her up. He continued smiling as they walked toward the house, her small hand still in his. 

END


End file.
